Understanding migration through literature. A literary marathon with a top-class lineup

Ten authors were invited to this year‘s Vienna Humanities Festival (click here to find out more about the festival), where they read out excerpts from texts and authors of their own choosing. The texts address personal experiences of migration, flight and displacement and were chosen so as to contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon. The spectrum of texts ranged from the classics of the 20th century, such as Brecht or Solzhenitsyn, through to contemporary works portraying displacement. Each author spoke for 30 minutes and there were no breaks between the readings.

Thomas Ballhausen (born in 1975 in Vienna, he is the author of a collection of short stories entitled In dunklen Gegenden, (In Dark Realms) Edition Atelier 2014, and theessay Signaturen der Erinnerung(The Signatures of Memory), Edition Atelier 2015) will read from the German version ofLore Segal‘s novelOther People‘s Houses.

12:30 – 13:00

Barbi Marković (born in 1980 in Belgrade, publications: the Thomas Bernhard remix novelAusgehen(Going Out), Suhrkamp 2009 and the novelSuperheldinnen (Superheroines), Residenz 2016) will read the short storyZu Hause(At Home) byIstvan Orkenyas well as another text as a surprise (part of this reading was in English).

13:00 – 13:30

Georgi Gospodinov(born in 1968 in Jambul, Bulgarien, lives and works in Sofia, most recent German translations: the novelPhysik der Schwermut(Physics of Sorrow), Droschl 2014, and the collected stories8 Minuten und 19 Sekunden (8 Minutes and 19 Seconds), Droschl 2016) will read from the novelAusterlitzbyW. G. Sebald (this reading was in English).

13:30 – 14:00

Lydia Mischkulnig(born in 1963 in Klagenfurt, most recent publications: the novelVom Gebrauch der Wünsche(On the Use of Wishes), Haymon 2014, the collected storiesDie Paradiesmaschine (The Paradise Machine), Haymon 2016) will read from the essaysJenseits von Schuld und Sühne(At the Mind’s Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and Its Realities) byJean Amèry.

14:00 – 14:30

Markus Binder (born in 1963 in Enns), the Attwenger drummerand lyricist and author of the prose collectionTestsiegerstraße, Verbrecher Verlag 2005 (a second prose collection will be published in November 2016) will read from texts byBertolt Brecht.

14:30 – 15:00

Olga Flor (born in 1968 in Vienna), most recent publications:the novelsDie Königin ist tot (The Queen is Dead), Zsolnay 2012, und Ich in Gelb (Me, in Yellow), Junge und Jung, 2015, will read from33 Tage. Ein Bericht(33 Days. A Report) by Leon Werthand the German edition of Patrick Kingsley‘s The New Odyssey.

The non-profit Allianz Cultural Foundation intiates and promotes multilateral art, culture and education projects, which contribute to understanding and dialogue across borders in Europe and the Mediterranean area. Allianz supports projects involving partners from at least three countries and in which the contributing actors and establishments develop lasting connections and substantially support the process of European integration. A particular focus is put on transdisciplinary and multimedia proposals which consider new approaches in art, culture and education and look beyond specific audiences to reach a broader public. Emerging academic and artistic talents comprise an especially important target group and the Foundation has developed specially tailored exchange and encounter projects for these groups.

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